


Salem Witches' Institute

by CrossoverSPN



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Supernatural
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Closeted Character, F/M, Homophobia, M/M, POV Alternating, Sorting Ceremony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-30
Updated: 2014-11-04
Packaged: 2018-02-23 06:10:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2537087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrossoverSPN/pseuds/CrossoverSPN
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Salem Witches' Institute is one of two schools of wizardry in America. The new school year starts off like any other: full of adventures, new friendships, romances, social drama and studying. However, things take a slightly darker tone when the new defense against the dark arts teacher starts playing mind games with his students.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arriving at the Institute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone arrives at school and they go through the sorting.

An energetic, 11 year old girl, with fiery red hair and a star wars t-shirt ran into her bedroom with a paper flapping wildly in her hand. She threw herself into a large plush chair,waking her computer as she caught her breath. After a moment she smoothed her hair and turned on her web-cam and started recording. 

“Greetings witches and wizards of Moondoor! I, your faithful webmistress, have a MASSIVE announcement. You might want to put down your collectible mugs and make sure you're sitting down. Well, obviously you're all probably sitting down, being in front of the computer and all, my bad, anyway! Today, I finally got my, da-da-da-daaaaaah letter from The Salem Witches' Institute!” She sang proudly as she pushed the letter so close to the camera that all the words ended up blurry on the screen, not that she could tell from behind the paper. “Nice right?!” She lowered the paper and tried to look solemn,“So, I must unfortunately resign my post as your fearless leader, but don't worry my vlog will continue to be updated, so you won't have to miss me too much and before you say anything, I know they have a no internet spell over the campus, but I'm sure it won't take that long to figure out a way around it. Trust me guys, I know what I'm doing. So wish me luck?! Oh, and pick a replacement for me? I'll send you everything you need to take over the site. Talk again soon! Later bitches!” She flashed the live long and prosper sign as she stopped the recording and uploaded it to her guild's website.

Instantly she saw responses and it made her give a bittersweet smile to the monitor before her eyes were drawn back to her letter; unable to stop a giant grin from forming, she pulled it to her chest and threw herself from her chair to her Lord of the Rings themed bed. “Finally, finally, finally! I'm gonna have sooo many adventures! This is gonna be great! I'm gonna be like the American Hermione! Well, without the boyfriend, gross.” The girl's joy pervaded through her and she started laughing at nothing. 

Because America was too big to just have one school for their witches and wizards, everyone living in and to the west of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas went to The Salem Witches' Institute in Oregon while everyone living to the east had to go to it's sister school in Boston. To keep the school's exact location hidden, all students were told to meet just outside Salem, Oregon at a hidden platform in an old abandoned train station. From there, they would be transported by the Salem Express to the school.

The girl held her cell phone out, filming as she got out of the car in the parking lot of the abandoned train station. It looked like it was about to rain and despite the crisp fall air some students were already in their robes. Returning students were reuniting with friends ad saying goodbye to their families while new students seemed to follow along with bigger groups to find their way in. “This is so awesome.” She zoomed in on various people, trying to figure out what their houses were, where their place was in the social hierarchy and of course she looked for potential adventure partners and arch enemies. After a quick goodbye to her mother she got on the train. She peaked into each compartment, looking at the various groups, trying to find somewhere open with other new students. Despite what she had heard, she saw a lot more mixing of houses in social groups. That took a bit of the pressure off of the upcoming sorting, though she was still determined to get into either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. 

She finally found a compartment with only one boy inside. It was a small Asian boy who was reading one of the first year textbooks. She poked her head in after giving two quick knocks, “Uhm, hey. Think I can join you?” 

The boy looked up and shrugged, “Sure.” 

“Thanks! I'm Charlie Bradbury. You're a first year too right?” 

“Yeah, I'm Kevin Tran.”

“Nice to meet you. So, good book so far?” Just before Kevin could answer, the door opened and a beautiful girl with blonde curls appeared. 

“Oh, sorry.” She shut the door halfway and turned to someone behind her, “This rooms not empty either.” 

“Shoulda got on the train earlier.” A deep voice answered.

“Can't we just sit with them? It looks like there's plenty of room.” Another, less developed masculine voice answered. 

“Sammy, this is your first year. I don't expect you to get it, but trust me we need our own spot.” The deep voice answered. 

“Whatever, let's keep looking.” Sammy answered in defeat. 

Charlie and Kevin looked at each other confused. 

Later a couple more students joined them, they all shared snacks and talked about the houses and their hopes for the school year before falling into a comfortable silence. The air took on a hint of sea salt, mixed with the thick scent of pine. Charlie looked out the window just in time to see the train round a bend to reveal the pacific sea crashing on the cliffs below. The sight brought even Kevin away from his book and all 4 kids pushed themselves to the window tightly. Another bend took them back into the mountains away from the sea and there it was, the Salem Witches' Institute. Built by pioneers inspired by Hogwarts, the institute was a giant castle with multiple towers, tucked into the mountains. As they neared the castle, large cathedral like bells rang out a welcoming melody that echoed through the valleys and out to the sea. The train stopped at a simple wooden platform and everyone began to get out of the train. The older kids were allowed various forms of transportation, but the first years were gathered to hike their way up to the castle. 

“Ok, all of you stay together. You wander off and get eaten by wolves, ain't no body gonna help you.” The groundskeeper shouted from the front of the group. The hike was steep, but there were plenty of boulders and weeds to use as footholds on the way up. Once they got high up enough, the ocean was visible again, behind them. Charlie stopped to look back for a minute at it while Kevin panted, catching up to her. “Come on Kev, just a little further.”

“Ugh, kill me now. I was not told there was gonna be hazing.”

“It's just a little further. Think about it this way, all great adventures have a lot of walking. It's like a requirement.” 

“You can keep your adventures, I'm just here to study and that really shouldn't include hiking.” Charlie just shook her head laughing and continued climbing up.

Once they got to the top, they didn't have much time to look around before they were taken into the great hall. Inside, their upperclassmen were already separated into their houses and sitting at long tables waiting for them. At the front of the room the teachers were all lined up in their own chairs. The groundskeeper led them to the front of the room, applause burst out for them as they approached the front of the room. Charlie blushed a bit looking at the different tables full of welcoming students before looking ahead to find the headmaster. Robert 'Bobby' Singer. Despite his position, he was scruffy, unshaven and continued to wear his baseball cap with his robes. 

“Alright, quiet down 'ye idjits. You can clap for em later.” The tables went quiet, but despite being insulted the majority of students all just gave warm smiles to each other as if to say 'that's our Bobby'. “Ok, introductions and then onto the sorting. You all should know me, I sent you yer damn letters. Behind me, we got our teachers for the year. Ellen, the potions teacher is gonna be the head of Gryffindor as always; Chuck, the transfiguration teacher is heading Ravenclaw; Pamela, the divination teacher will be in charge of Hufflepuff; and Crowley the care of magical creatures teacher is going to be head of Slytherin.” They each stood and gave a quick wave during their introduction as Bobby plowed on ahead, “Other people to know, Rufus, the loudmouth drunk that led you up here is our groundskeeper; Becky is our nurse, hopefully you won't have to go crying to her too often; Zachariah is our astronomy teacher; Metatron there is history; Jody is herbology and I'll be taking care of charms as always. This year, we are introducing a new defense against the dark arts teacher, Professor Azazel. Give him a warm welcome huh?” The crowd clapped politely as the new teacher gave his wave before sitting back down. “I know it's a lot to take in at once, so don't feel bad if you don't remember everyone right away, for now let's just get the sorting done with so we can all eat huh? Ellen?”

“I'm coming you old coot.” Ellen left her seat and went to where the hat and chair were waiting. She was a beautiful, middle aged, blonde woman with a strong, confident grin and gentle eyes. She took the hat in her hands and one by one they began calling names. Going in alphabetical order meant Charlie got to go 3rd. She walked up, suddenly feeling her nerves take her as she eyed the sorting hat in Ellen's hands. 

“Come on sweetheart. It'll be ok. The sorting hat knows where you belong.” Ellen said quietly and Charlie nodded firmly sitting down. The large hat was fit over her head and slid down a bit, covering her face from the room full of eagerly awaiting people. 

“Smart...adventurous...a true individual...witty....and an untapped bravery. Interesting, interesting.” The hat seemed to speak directly into her mind. “Gryffindor would make you strong, it would give you fight and confidence. Adventure would find you easily. On the other hand, Ravenclaw could let you truly push yourself to new heights; it would nurture you and give you a comfortable atmosphere to be yourself.” 

“I'll find adventure no matter what, I'll grow no matter what. If I can have a place to belong in Ravenclaw...then put me there.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

“Ravenclaw!” The hat shouted and instantly the Ravenclaw table cheered as she ran over to a spot they were opening for her next to a man with a blonde mullet. 

When they got to the last first year, the mullet boy cracked his knuckles, “Here's Sammy. 5$ says he's with us.”

“I'll take that bet. He's gonna be Gryffindor, just like his brother.” Another voice chimed in. 

“He sounded pretty nice, maybe Hufflepuff?” Charlie speculated outloud.

“I just being nice doesn't automatically make you a Hufflepuff. It's more likely that he will be with his brother. Lot's of families end up in the same house right?”

“I dunno about that, the Novak family is all over the map.” 

The chatter continued as Sammy walked up to the chair. There was a loud whistle from the Gryffindor table that seemed to make him shrink down in embarrassment. Bobby gave the boy a pat on the shoulder and Sammy nodded letting Ellen put the hat on his head. After a moment the hat shouted out, “SLYTHERIN!” The Slytherin table cheered while most people in the other tables went quiet in shock. A muscular boy slammed his fist on the Gryffindor table and stood up, but Bobby gave him a look and he sat back down, looking away. Sammy seemed almost afraid to go to the cheering table, but Ellen gave him a little push and he headed over uncomfortably. 

“Well that's that. Enjoy the food, your teachers will take you to the dorms after dinner and explain the basics. Dig in!” Everyone cheered and instantly dove into the food. There was everything from turkey covered in gravy, fresh grilled steaks and burgers to mashed potatoes with garlic butter, salad with bacon and croutons and various kinds of pies and cookies. 

When they were all full to bursting, a pale man with messy, curly, dirty blonde hair and an uneven beard stepped up to the table with his robe in disarray. “Ok so, for all of you first years, I'm Chuck Novak and I'm the Ravenclaw adviser.” His voice was shaky and squeaky, like his movements. He licked his lips a couple times and looked over towards the door. “Uhm, Let's head out huh? It'll be easier to talk in the dorm.” He led them through the castle to their tower and told them the first password for the year: Supernatural. In the living room shared between the girls' and boys' halls, Chuck explained the rules and who the prefects for the year were and then had the prefects lead the first years to their new assigned rooms. 

Charlie had stayed up reading and when she heard her roommates finally go to sleep she pulled out her phone and recorded another video. “Well, I did it! I'm Ravenclaw!” She whispered excitedly. “Classes start tomorrow and so does my adventure! Peace out bitches!”


	2. Worry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean worries over Sam's placement in Sytherin. Dean and Cas stop a fight in an alleyway between two first years.

The next evening

“Benny, you don't get it man. Both our parents were Gryffindor too, it's practically a family tradition. It doesn't make any sense, Sammy is gonna get eaten alive by those snakes. He doesn't belong there.” A tall, muscular, 3rd year boy with shining green eyes said from his spot on his bed in the Gryffindor tower.

On the bed next to his, Benny, a slightly larger 3rd year boy with the beginnings of a beard and a southern air watched him with empathy. “I dunno brother, Sam has always been a bit ambitious. Makes sense he got put in there if you ask me.”

“He's a good kid!” 

“I know that Dean, but I'm just saying, he ain't you. Let him make his own way. The sorting hat don't make mistakes. You know that.” 

“It did this time.”

“Well why don't you ask Bobby about it?” 

“I already tried.”

“And?”

“He said the same as you, but it doesn't make it right.”

Benny shook his head, “Sam'll be fine, but me on the other hand, I need to get some dinner if I'm gonna be able to stand another lecture from Metatron tomorrow. You comin? Full belly might do you some good.”

Dean looked out the window and saw a small sparrow hoping around on the window seal. “Nah, you go on ahead. I'll be down later.” 

“Alright brother, just don't spend all night up here wallowing in it huh? Sam is gonna wanna see you, I bet.” Dean gave a nod and watched as Benny left the room. 

When he was sure Benny was gone he went to the window where the bird was still bouncing around and flapping restlessly. “Ok, ok, I'm coming. Geez, bossy.” 

The sparrow flew in and raced around him a couple times before turning into a boy, nearly as tall as Dean, with eyes like blue fire and dark messy hair that seemed to poke out in every direction. He had a yellow Hufflepuff scarf around his neck and robes that were clearly too big for him, but despite his disheveled appearance he moved with confidence. He made his way close to Dean, their eyes locked as he entered his personal space until their faces were inches apart. 

“It was cold out there.” He deadpanned and Dean cracked a smile putting his hands on the other boy's arms, running them up and down in quick movements, trying to warm him.

“Sorry. How long were you out there?”

“Long enough to hear you rant about Sam. Dean, I understand why you're worried and if it helps I have a brother in that house as well and-”

“Do not even try to tell me that Gabe will watch out for him because that is NOT even remotely close to being a comforting thought. No offense, I mean he can be a pretty funny guy, but knowing Gabe, his idea of 'watching out for Sammy' will probably involve putting glue in his shampoo and while that would be funny and make the kid finally get a damn haircut, it's not really considered 'looking out' for him.”

“Gabriel can be difficult...”

“That's the understatement of the year, Cas.”

Cas rolled his eyes, “Still, I think you should remember that while Slytherin does have a more negative reputation than the other houses, it still produces many wonderful witches and wizards, many who end up very successful. It could be a great opportunity for Sam. Slytherin are ambitious and clever. He could learn a lot.”

“Clever? You mean cunning.” 

“Cunning is a synonym of clever, just with a more negative tone.”

“A cinnamon what now?”

Cas sighed, “Dean, he'll be fine. He's safe here. While you may not be able to be hover over his shoulder 24/7 like you had been planning, you can still keep an eye on him.”

“Cas, I just-”

“Want the best for him, I know.”

Dean smiled a bit as he finally let himself float away in the endless sunny afternoon sky of Cas's eyes. “Thanks, baby.” 

Cas let a hand go to Dean's cheek, caressing it for a moment before motioning towards the door, “Ready to go get dinner?” 

“Yeah, I think I could actually eat the entire stack of hamburgers today.”

“I'm afraid you may have to duel me for them.”

“Oh yeah? Let's see what you got then little Hufflepuff, ready to take on the lion?”

“Considering that I know how to make this particular lion purr, I don't think it'll be too difficult of a fight.”

“Shut up.”

The two made their way to the hall and almost immediately they were both called over to their respective tables. Cas gave Dean one more reassuring smile before he headed to the Hufflepuff table. Dean watched him go for a minute and then started scanning the room for Sam as he wandered to the Gryffindor table. 

“Wow, Benny wasn't kidding. Overprotective much? Look, he's over there and he's fine,” said Dean's childhood friend Jo, a petite but feisty girl with beautiful yellow curls, as she got up to point Sam out to Dean. Dean followed her sights until he spotted Sam sitting with a couple of girls, Gabriel and a guy Dean recognized to be Cas's cousin Balthazar. Sam was laughing with the group and seemed to be ok, but still Dean couldn't help but get a sinking feeling seeing his brother surrounded by green and silver. 

“I guess.”

“Ugh, will you just sit down you big caveman and have something to eat. Maybe you'll be less grouchy.” Jo grabbed Dean's arm and pulled him into his spot. At first, he kept turning around to look at Sam, as if Sam might get kidnapped or hurt if he weren't watching, but eventually he let himself get caught up in Benny, Jo and Anna's conversation enough to relax. 

“So, Dean, did want help with astronomy? I have some time tonight.” Anna asked with her usual suggestive smile. Anna was beautiful in an ethereal way; she had porcelain white skin, dark red hair hair and bright and beautiful eyes that almost matched her younger brother, Cas's. The fact that they had such similar eyes is probably what drew him to Anna in the first place, but even if he couldn't say anything to anyone about it, he only wanted Cas, now that he had him. 

“Thanks anyway gorgeous, but I already did it.” Dean winked and she looked at him impressed.

“Really? All by yourself?” 

“Is that so hard to believe?”

“Yes.” Jo and Anna chimed together leaving Benny shrugging. 

“Hey, Dean?” A quiet voice interrupted and Dean whirled around and out of his chair.

“Sammy! Hey, how's your first day been? They treat'n you right over there? Do I need to kick anyone's ass?”

“I'm fine.” Sam said laughing and shaking his head. “Today has been awesome actually. Our adviser is kinda snarky, he's calling me moose, but everyone else has been awesome.”

“Moose? I guess you do have a moose face.”

Sam gave his best bitch face as he rolled his eyes. “Anyway, classes are good and everything is just...it's good. Just thought I'd tell you so you can stop freaking out over me.”

“Hey, it's my job. That's what big brothers do.”

“Tell Michael and Gabriel that.” Anna said with a laugh. 

Dean sighed and Sam just smiled and peered from behind Dean to wave at the group, “Hey guys.”

“So Sam, met any cute girls yet?” Jo asked excitedly.

“Uhm, maybe, actually. There is this girl in my herbology class. She's a hufflepuff, so I guess we won't see each other that often, but she's really nice...and funny and cute.” Sam blushed thinking about her.

“Oh my god little Sammy already has a crush. What's her name? Want me to ask her out for you?” Jo asked clapping her hands together.

“He's been here a day and you want to get him a girlfriend, ease it up Jo let the kid adjust.”

“But really, what's her name?” Anna asked.

“Jess.” Sam said quietly, as if Jess might somehow hear him from the Hufflepuff table.

“Aww Sammy and Jessie. Perfect.” Jo said nodding alongside Anna, making Sam blush harder.

“Ugh can we move on from this? I am TRYING to make sure my little brother is ok here.” 

“Let them have their fun, he's obviously fine if he's getting all excited over some little honey.” Benny said with a laugh.

After a while, Balthazar came over to collect Sam and they headed back to the Sytherin tower with the rest of their group. Being able to talk to Sam made Dean relax a bit more, but he couldn't help but worry over his brother. 

When Sam was just a baby, their mother Mary had been part of a resistance group, fighting against a powerful wizard who called himself Lucifer, the bringer of light. He had used a cult of popularity with his already incredible natural magical abilities to take control of the American bureau of magic. Their mother came from a family of trained duelists, she was brave, strong, and willing to fight to make the world better for her family. While her resistance group proved successful, Mary fell in battle. 

Their father John raised them alone after that. He hadn't been a fighter when he was younger, but after Mary died he trained himself. He worked hard and eventually became an auror for the government. That meant that Dean and Sam were home alone a lot of the time. Dean took the responsibilities of the household like making sure Sam was taken care of, that the house was clean, bills were paid and the fridge was always stocked. He had hated leaving Sam alone when he started coming to the institute, but Sam had practically pushed him out the door. Dean had been so excited that they could finally live together again. He never even imagined the possibility that Sam might not make the same house as the rest of the family. Sure Sam was different, but he didn't belong in Slytherin. He belonged with his family. 

Over the next few weeks, Dean kept an eye on Sam the best he could, but everything seemed to be ok. Sam had started dating Jess and was getting good grades. He had even made some friendly rivalry with kids from Ravenclaw. By the first trip to Catsale, the Hogsmeade of the Salem Witches' institute, Dean had finally relaxed into his own rhythm. He had already gotten his spot secured on the quidditch team, school was good enough and things with Cas were perfect. 

Of course, it was then that the first sign of trouble showed itself. Dean was heading through Catsale to meet Cas at a cafe, when he heard shouting. He followed the sound to an alleyway and saw Cas standing in front of a young, thin, blonde Hufflepuff, shielding him from a beautiful brunette Slytherin girl. Both Cas and the girl had their wands drawn. 

“He cheated! He could never have done better than me without cheating and no one cheats me!” The girl shouted, but Cas didn't budge.

“Bella, I didn't, I swear. I wouldn't cheat. I've just been doing the extra lessons. I don't see why you're so angry. You've been doing them too.” The boy said from behind Cas and Bella's glare narrowed and she brought her wand back, opening her mouth to cast a spell, but Cas was too quick for her.

“Expelliarmus!” Bella's wand went flying right at Dean, where he caught it easily. 

“I'll just drop this off with Bobby?” Dean asked shrugging. Cas nodded and Bella's mouth hung open. 

“You can't be serious. This has nothing to do with either of you. You listen here...” She said making her way to Dean. He quickly put the wand up his robe sleeve, out of her reach as she yelled at him some nonsense about who she was and how no one had any right to treat her this way. Dean let her get it all out with nothing more than an eye roll, but when she finally finished and walked away, Dean pulled her wand back out of his sleeve, only to find that it had somehow been replaced by an ordinary twig. 

“What the? No way...she didn't....”

Cas sighed, “Pick-pocketed?”

“Looks that way, man she is one piece of work. How the hell Sammy is dealing with people like that in his house, I have no idea...how's the kid?”

Cas looked back at the boy who was now dusting himself off, “Samandriel, are you alright?”

“Yes. I'm sorry to trouble you like that.”

“What was that all about?” Dean asked placing himself next to Cas.

“Nothing, not really. Just, Professor Azezal has been giving special lessons to some of the first years that he sees potential in. Bella apparently isn't making very much progress and the professor is starting to show disinterest in her. She found out that I'm doing well and got angry, that's all. Slytherin don't like to lose....and even more so when it involves losing to Hufflepuff.” 

“Yeah they are glory mongers.” Dean said nodding firmly.

“Says the Griffindor.” Cas said with a smile, only to get a light punch in the arm. “Samandriel, you should report what happened. We'll support you, but they need to hear about what happened from you.”

“Uh...yeah I guess. It's really not a big deal.”

“Yeah, she was just gonna beat the crap out of you and leave you here to rot. Not a big deal.” 

“She's just jealous. It's understandable. The lessons we are receiving are highly coveted by all first years. It's an incredible opportunity and if she is about to lose that, well I feel bad for her.” Cas and Dean glanced at each other. “Anyway, thanks for helping me. I'll be more careful. See you around Castiel.” Cas nodded and Samandriel left the alley. 

“So that was weird.”

“Yes. Have you heard anything about special lessons from Sam?”

“Nah, but it might be worth asking about.”

“I agree.”

“So, I guess our date is canceled huh?”

“It appears so.” 

Dean sighed and looked around carefully before pulling Cas close for a quick kiss. Their cold noses brushing each others cheeks as they separated. “Too bad, seeing you all raging justice reminded me of the first time we met..." Cas smiled at the memory and pulled him close for another kiss. 

"Let's find Sam."


	3. Incipit Proelium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam continues his lessons with Azezel. Sam and Jess go to the first quidditch match of the season. There is an attack.

A couple weeks later

 

Sam cautiously walked into the defense against the dark arts classroom, “Professor Azezal? Sir?” 

There was a loud rustling and Sam looked up to see the professor up a ladder, arranging some books. “Ah, Sammy, my favorite students, come on in. Take a seat. I was just cleaning up some of these old editions.”

“Oh, should I come back?”

“No, it's fine. I can get to it later. Sit down, get your stuff out.” He descended the ladder and Sam set up his place at his desk while Azezal went to his desk to grab a few ancient looking books, bound in what Sam hoped was leather. 

“So, I believe we were talking about how looking at the Latin and Greek root words involved in spell casting and hexes can often tell you how to reverse or stop spells. Did you make that chart I asked you for?” 

“Yes sir.” Sam said proudly pulling out a sheet with nearly 100 spells, their names all broken apart to their base words, prefixes and suffixes. He even included notation about what the spells did and related them to both to their usual counter spells and theoretical counters based purely off of their linguistic connections. 

“Very impressive, my boy. Some of these theories are genius. We'll have to test some of them out I think.” He nodded, looking the paper over one more time before putting it back on the desk. “You are really moving at a great pace, Sam. You should be proud, but make sure you don't start slacking. You keep up with the work and I guarantee you, I'll have you ready to score in the top bracket when you are ready for the O.W.Ls and N.E.W.Ts, just like your mom.” 

Sam smiled at the mention of his mother. He was just a baby when she died, so all he had really ever had were stories and moving pictures in their old family albums. He knew the way her smile would light up her face, he had read old newspaper clippings about her determination and skill, and sure Dean and dad would tell him what she was like. But they were biased and they couldn't know everything about her. The first time Sam and Azezel had met for these special accelerated tutoring sessions, Azezel had brought an old yearbook and showed him a group picture with both Mary and Azezel in it; they had been in the dueling club together. After every session, Sam would always ask for stories about his mother. It made him feel like he had a new chance to get close to her. 

“I'll make her proud.” Sam said with determination.

“I have no doubt that you will Sam and for my part, I'll do whatever I can to help you succeed. Now, today perhaps we should look specifically at some hexes. The more you understand about how they are made and what they do, the easier it will be for you to counter and destroy them.” He placed the large book that smelled like rotten flesh and old parchment on the table in front of Sam. By the time they finished Sam had learned a multitude of new dark hexes, how they were made, how they were used and what stopped them. Azezel finished the lesson telling him a story about how Mary would twirl her wand when she was bored, flipping it over her thumb with ease, but one day it slide from her hands and went flying. Before it could the ground, there had been about 5 different people trying to accio her wand so they could be the one to return it to her. She had been very popular during her time at the school. Azezel was convinced every boy had had a crush on her at least one time or another. 

When Sam got back to his dorm, he started trying to flip his wand over his thumb like Azezel had showed him Mary had done. He couldn't seem to get the balance right and his wand would shoot off in random directions and he would have to go chasing after it. 

“Careful Sammy-boy, you're going to put someones eye out.” Balthazar said coming out of the boy's dorm area with Gabriel. 

“I doubt it's shooting off fast enough to do that.” Sam said matter-of-factly and the older boy laughed. 

“You never know. Some of us are very fragile.” Sam rolled his eyes as Balthazar headed to the door.

“It's past curfew, where are you going?” 

Balthazar gave a wink, “A gentleman never kisses and tells Sam, that's lesson 1.” With that, Balthazar left and Sam was left in the common room alone again. He shook his head and headed to bed. 

The next day passed quickly, like everyday seemed to. Sam loved his classes, he was learning so much and meeting new, fascinating people all the time. Every moment seemed full. It was hard to even imagine how his life had been only last year, always alone, going to muggle school, never quite fitting in, waiting and hoping for dad to come home, and generally burying himself in reading while he'd wait for letters from Dean. Now he was never really alone for long and he actually fit in. Everything felt right, finally. 

After class, he made his way to the great hall to see it decked out in Gryffindor red and Hufflepuff yellow. Tonight was going to be the first quidditch match of the year so everyone was running around trying to eat quick so they could get ready. Many students had painted themselves in honor of one of the two house colors, to varying degrees. Sam cringes a bit when he saw Ash walk by shirtless, his chest half painted red and half yellow with a big eagle in the center. He made his way towards the Sytherin table when Jess ran up and caught his arm; she was covered in yellow body glitter and had her Hufflepuff scarf tied around her neck.

“Sam! Hey, we are still on for tonight right?”

“Yeah of course.” 

“Awesome. So, I guess you are gonna be wearing Gryffindor red huh? For Dean?” 

Sam grinned, “Of course, it's my first chance to see my star-beater brother in action!” 

“There are only 2 beaters, it's not hard to be the star.”

“Whatever, I meant of the whole the school, not the team.” 

“Uh huh, well I wouldn't get too excited, after all, we've got Cas as our seeker and we all know in the end it's all about the seekers.” 

“Pfft you just don't get how the dynamics work, the seeker can't do anything without good support.” Sam teased, only to get pushed playfully away as Jess gave an exaggerated teasing look of fake irritation. Suddenly, from across the room they heard the Gryffindor team start chanting and roaring in excitement as the team members headed out of the room to get ready at the stadium. Sam smiled and waved when he saw Dean wave to him on the way out with his team.

“Besides, Jo is an awesome seeker too, just wait and see. Dean and Benny are gonna have her totally open the whole time and Michael isn't gonna let your chasers get anything by him.” 

“We'll see! Winchester. Wanna put your money where your mouth is?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Hm, loser has to do the winners homework for a week!” 

“That's not fair, I don't want you to do my homework for me. I'll fail.”

“Ohh that's it!” Jess fluffed his hair ruffly as he tried to bat her off.

“I was joking, stop! Jess!”

They went out to the field and found a spot that was relatively mixed between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff fans. Jess had a small yellow flag and Sam had a red one that they both waved frantically as the game started. “Come on Dean!” Sam cheered while Jess called out to Cas and various other members that Sam didn't really know so well.

“Dean and Cas must play against each other a lot, they know each others moves so well. It's like every time Dean gets near him or throws anything his way, Cas is already ahead of him.” Jess said in wonder as she watched them fly around.

“Yeah, those two have been best friends since they were first years. Dean saw some guys picking on this girl Lisa and he went to make them stop, but there were a lot of them. He managed to distract them long enough for Lisa to get away, but they started wailing on him. Cas saw that and stepped in. You wouldn't know it because he seems so calm all the time, but Cas is a beast. He took two of the guys out before Dean could even get back on his feet to help out.” 

“No way. I can't even imagine that, I mean Cas is such a...I dunno calming presence?” 

Sam laughed, “I know right? Even with Dean, which is really saying something.”

At that moment, two chasers, Anna and Samandriel went flying close by, racing after a quaffle. The audience cheered loudly. “Come on Samandriel!” Jess cheered while Sam screamed for Anna. In the end it was Anna who got it and headed towards the Hufflepuff keeper, Gadreel. Anna darted her way through the opposition and sank the goal with incredible grace. The Gryffindor supporters jumped to their feet while the Hufflepuffs gave a collective “Aw.”

“Wait, I think Cas sees the snitch!” Jess said in an excited whisper, almost afraid to alert Jo. They watched as Cas took a sudden dive. 

Dean stopped suddenly and watched him, “Dammit Jo get in there!” 

“Shit! I got this, keep em off me!” She sped off after Cas who was close behind the snitch. The little golden thing was swerving left and right before taking off to the right suddenly, trying to throw Cas off, but for someone who spent a decent amount of time transfigured into the body of a sparrow, flying was second nature to him. Everyone was on their feet now, screaming as Cas inched towards the snitch, his brow furrowed tightly. 

“Come here...” He demanded, but as if in response the snitch quickly dove and reversed direction. Jo saw it and dove as well. Jo and Cas were nearly neck and neck, flying side by side, their hands out stretched. The audience's screams seemed to blur and fade and the only sound left was the buzzing of the snitch as a pair of fingers scrapped it. It managed to leap away again, but the second time Cas didn't let go and he pulled to a stop lifting the snitch above his hands in victory, breathing hard as his team rushed to him and Jo cursed, rejoined her own team. 

Jess was jumping up and down now, waving her flag while Sam sighed in defeat, watching his brother float with his team, though clearly watching Cas. Over the speakers, a victory theme began to play as the announcer finished reeling off top plays, points and mentions of players stats along with predictions for the season. “Come on, let's head back. I bet we're gonna have a big party at my dorm, don't wanna miss anything and you should probably console your brother.” 

“Ha, ha.” Sam said giving her a playful shove and they headed out slowly with the rest of the student body, all still chatting and cheering excitedly. 

However, when they got into the institute, a different kind of scream filled the hallway. Everyone looked at each other and pushed forward trying to follow the sound. Sam and Jess were no exception and they tried to move their way up to see what happened. When they saw the limp, bloody body of Kevin on the floor Jess's eyes filled with tears and she curled against Sam, pulling him into a hug. “No...”

“Ok, all of you just, back up. We gotta get this boy some damn help. Get back to your dorms.” When no one moved Bobby rolled his eyes, “NOW YOU DAMN IDJITS! DID I STUTTER? GO!” Bobby shouted as Becky, the nurse, brought a stretcher for Kevin. It was only when Kevin was loaded and removed from the hall that people began to really leave. Sam looked around and spotted something, he hadn't noticed before. There were two words, written messily in what looked to be blood. Incipit Proelium. Sam recognized it from his recent Latin and Greek studies with Azezel, it was Greek for beginning and battle. “The battle begins?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the bad Latin, it's from Google translate so let me know if it's wrong. Also, thanks to those of you who have commented and left kudos <3


	4. Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas talks to Sam. Christmas happens at the Novak family's house and something happens to make Cas start to worry about Sam. 
> 
> Warning for homophobia and slightly implied abuse.

Cas was just about to leave the library when he saw Sam carrying a tower of books towards one of the tables. Cas hadn't spent much time with him, but from Dean's stories he felt like he knew him already. Sam seemed like such a good, hard working boy and the affection between the brothers always made Cas's chest warm. He made his way over to Sam, “Would you like some help?”

“Huh? Oh, sure that'd be awesome.” Sam said with a smile and let Cas take half of the books from him. “Just right over here, thanks.” Sam said putting his books on the table where his Slytherin scarf held his place. Cas placed the books on the table as well and instantly Sam started organizing them and preparing his tools for note taking. 

Cas's eyes glanced over the books, they seemed to cover a variety of topics like herbs, potions, poisons, antidotes and gardening. “Are you interested in herbology Sam?”

“Huh? Oh, it's ok. I'm really just doing it for professor Azezel's accelerated tutoring course. I have a massive paper to write before tomorrow. He says a good foundational understanding of the most commonly used plants in potions, poisons and antidotes is essential in defense against the dark arts. After all, in the real world, most people don't just go throwing spells around, they are more careful. Did you know that poisons have been to blame for the majority of murders in the magical world for the last several years.” 

“I didn't know that, but it makes sense. I'm glad to see you are applying yourself so seriously Sam, but I hope he isn't pushing you too hard. Having extra papers on top of your ordinary homework must be difficult.”

“It's nothing I can't handle. Besides it's all really interesting. Professor Azezel is amazing, he really brings all the information together so it makes more sense and he gives me so much more in depth practice and background info than my normal classes. He actually lets me explore the info instead of just practice and memorize. By the time I take my O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s I'm going to have so much more mastered than if I just stuck to the normal curriculum.”

“That sounds amazing. How many people is he tutoring?”

“Well, he started off with a lot more, but because his work load is catching up with him, he's had to narrow the number down to just the best of the best. There are only 4 of us left.” Sam said brimming with pride, but suddenly his smile fell, “It was more, but Kevin quit after his attack.” 

“You know him? How is he?”

“He's ok I guess. He doesn't remember much about what happened, just that he was heading to the library and someone hit him from behind. He's ok now, but he keeps getting headaches and after taking a few days off he's been having to catch up with his school work like crazy, so professor Azezel told him it might be best if he stops with the tutoring sessions.”

“Yes, that sounds like it's for the best. I'm still surprised about what happened, does he have any idea who did it?”

“No. He thinks it might have been someone who was jealous of him though. Kevin is one of the top students in Ravenclaw, which means he's one of the top students in our year in pretty much every class. Probably gets him a lot of attention. Anyway, uhm, I'm really sorry, but I need to get to work.”

“Right, of course. Good luck Sam.” Cas said with a polite smile which Sam returned before looking down to his first of many books. 

Fights at school weren't uncommon at the institute, but beatings were a totally different story. A fight could be about anything; a fight could be about honor, rivalry, it could be used to settle a disagreement or even just for practice, but a beating was pure, cold rage. It reminded him of when he found Bella attacking Samandriel in Catsale. Competition and rivalry was a good motivator, but if it was causing people to physically attack each other it was definitely going too far. Not being a first year, Cas wasn't totally sure how their social structure was forming, but it seemed like professor Azezel's students were up towards the top. These special children were clearly chosen because they were gifted, which means that the mass majority of kids that weren't chosen were seen as not good enough. That alone could cause tension, frustration, jealousy and maybe even violence. It gave Cas a cold chill thinking about it. Hopefully, over time people would get so caught up in events and clubs that they would stop caring about what they were missing with professor Azezel.

That night, Cas finished dinner quickly, went to quidditch practice and then went to meet Dean like he usually did. They didn't have a lot of time together this time of year, but a little here and there was better than nothing, even if they had to sneak out past curfew. They sat in the bell tower, looking out passed the pine trees to the ocean where the moonlight was being broken on the waves. The bells wouldn't ring until morning, so the place was safety abandoned. The boys sat with their fingers intertwined and their legs dangling over the side, shoved through the stone gate that wrapped around the open bell tower. The cold air sent chills through their limbs until Dean eventually pulled Cas against him for warmth, rearranging their scarfs so they stretched around both of them in a blur of red and yellow. 

After a long quiet moment of just holding each other, Dean cleared his throat, “So, I uh, got a letter from dad.” 

Cas looked up at him from his place against Dean's chest. “Oh?”

“Yeah, he can't make it for Christmas. He's got a case starting up that is gonna take all his time. He said to just stay here with Bobby and Ellen.” 

“Oh. Did you tell Sam?” 

“Not yet. He's gonna be really disappointed. Not sure how I'm gonna tell him yet.” 

Cas covered Dean's hand with his own, holding it tight against his stomach. Dean smiled and let out a sigh before he continued, “I mean, it wouldn't be the first Christmas we spent with Bobby and Ellen, but he's in his first year here, he's gotta be getting homesick.”

“I'm not sure about that. He seems to be adjusting well to me.”

“Everyone gets homesick their first year Cas, Sammy's just too stubborn to say anything.”

Cas shrugged, “Not everyone. I never got homesick.”

“You grew up down the hill in Catsale and everyone but your mom is here, of course you didn't get homesick.” Dean teased and Cas bumped back against him.

“Still, I don't think everyone gets homesick. Sam seems fine and I'm sure he understands that your father has an important job to do.”

“Yeah more important than us.”

“You know that's not true.” Cas said firmly and Dean huffed. “Besides, Sam won't be alone for Christmas and that's the important thing.”

“I guess.” They went quiet for a moment both thinking the situation over. 

“You know, you and Sam could always come home with me. I'm sure my family wouldn't mind and...I'd really like to finally spend Christmas with you. Plus I could get to know Sam better. The cooking might not be as good as what the kitchens at school would probably make, but...it would still be homemade.” Cas rambled getting quieter as he went. Dean pulled away so he could look at Cas properly as if to see if he was actually serious or not.

“Cas, thanks, but we aren't gonna interrupt your family's Christmas dinner. We'll be fine.” 

“It wouldn't be interrupting, it would be joining.” 

Dean looked him over unsure, but Cas kept his ground, imploring him with his eyes and he finally broke, “You sure no one would mind?”

“Not at all. If anything they would be grateful we'd have help eating all the food.” 

Dean smiled a bit and put his hand to Cas's cheek, “Ok. If you're sure. But, me and Sam gotta spend some time with Bobby and Ellen first or they are seriously gonna murder us.”

“Spend the day with them, then come for dinner and spend the night?” 

“Alright. You got it.” Dean said with a smile. Cas grinned in victory before leaning forward to kiss him gently. As their lips softly pressed together, their arms moved around one another and began roaming longingly before Dean finally leaned back against the floor, pulling Cas on top of him. They squirmed to get their legs comfortably out of the gate without detaching from each other. The kisses sped up, their lips opening as Dean's tongue licked deep into Cas's mouth, caressing his tongue as if willing it to his own mouth. Cas pressed against Dean tightly, rolling his hips to extract a moan from the warm body beneath him. 

After a good half hour of kisses and rutting, a small watch alarm went off and they knew they had to get back to their dorms. 

The next few weeks went by quickly and after tests were taken, most of the students were released to return home for the holidays. On Christmas eve morning, Cas and his brothers and sister packed their duffle bags and went outside to where their father was waiting.“Ok, let's see, two Griffindors, one Hufflepuff and one Slytherin, looks like that's everyone.” He teased in his usual awkward way. 

“Dad, no matter how many times you do that we are not going to magically turn into Ravenclaws.” Gabriel said with a laugh and Anna shrugged in agreement. 

“A man can dream, son. A man can dream.” Chuck said with a faked wistful look to the heavens. 

“Can he dream at home? I'm freezing.” Anna said shoving her arm against Cas's in an effort to share warmth. 

“Yeah, in a minute. Where are Sam and Dean?” Chucked asked as he looked at Cas and everyone's interest seemed to pique. 

“They are coming after they have lunch with principle Singer and professor Harvelle. I already told them the address.”

“Alright, let's get going then.” Chuck smiled at his children and led them down the mountain to Catsale. 

The mountains were already covered with a thin layer of snow. Everything was already covered with a thin layer of snow that seemed to glow in the sunlight. The forest was quiet on the long hike to Catsale, but when they got to the village the streets were full of last minute shoppers. Cas felt his feet slide against the icy pebble road with each step and he slowed his pace. The moment they entered the house they were hit with the smell of a honey glazed ham baking in the oven and the warm spiced scent of pumpkin pie cooling. 

“Honey, we're back.” Chuck said and his wife, Naomi, came out to greet him. Each child was pulled into a tight hug before being sent upstairs to put their things away. Then the kids were all downstairs, gathered into their usual spots watching Christmas movies on TV. 

“I'm telling you, this movie needs a sequel. Who doesn't want to see Halloween invade other holidays? Like Easter! Think about it, the eggs could suddenly burst open with mutilated stuffed rabbits inside.” Gabriel said with a candy cane sticking out of his mouth.

“I dunno sequels never go well.” Anna said with a shrug sipping hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon. 

“Yeah, but that's because they are forcing it. This one clearly has unexplored territory.” Gabriel insisted. 

“He has a point and just saying, but some sequels are good. That one with the kid and the dragon was good.” Michael said looking up from the book he was reading. 

“Yeah I guess so.” Anna said giving in. 

Suddenly there was a rough knock at the door and all of the kids, besides Michael, jumped. “Oh, I bet that's for you Cassie.” Gabriel grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.

Cas blushed and rolled his eyes, throwing the pillow he had been holding onto at Gabriel's head. “Shut up.”

“Hey, I'll get it, you can just sit right there baby brother.” Anna said with a grin. 

“He's my guest Anna. I'll get it.” Cas said firmly before going to the door, completely missing the look his brothers and sister were giving each other. 

Cas opened the door to find Dean alone, his face, red from the cold, was barely sticking out from behind his scarf.

“Hey Cas.”

“Dean, come in, where's Sam?”

“He said he had a bunch of studying to do, so he passed. Friggin' nerd, seriously. Who does that on Christmas?” Dean rolled his eyes as he came into the house and instantly pulled his scarf down, sniffling a bit as he did so. 

“He certainly is dedicated. Well at least you had a nice time with Bobby and Ellen together right?” 

“Yeah it was awesome.” Dean said with a smile, his cheeks, ears and nose still bright red.

“Hey Deano, not use to the cold yet?” Gabriel greeted as he, Anna and Michael came into the hallway. 

Dean glared, “Obviously not.”

“I could totally warm you up.” Anna winked and Dean sighed looking at Cas for help. 

Cas sighed, “Come on Dean, lets take your things upstairs and then we can get you something warm to drink.” 

“Good idea.” Dean said with relief and Cas led him upstairs, his siblings watching them go. 

When they got to Cas's room and shut the door Dean put his bag down and looked at Cas seriously, “You sure they don't know about us?”

“Only my parents know. Trust me, if they knew it would have been much, much worse.” Dean cringed at the idea, but soon Cas was in front of him and all other thoughts disappeared. “I'm glad you came.”

“Me too.” Dean leaned in toward Cas, but Cas stopped him and moved to his ear to whisper to him. 

“I'm pretty sure they are outside the door listening.” 

Dean looked towards the door suspiciously and then grinned, “Let's have a little fun then.” He whispered his plan in Cas's ear, Cas nodded his support, grinning wildly and whispered a few ideas of his own into Dean's ear. Dean snickered and nodded before he made his way to Cas's bed and started bouncing on it. 

“Oh Cas, just like that baby. Your tongue feels so fucking good.” Dean moaned and Cas crept quietly to his dresser, pulling out a small object before creeping towards the door. 

“Yeah, oh fuck yeah. Don't stop baby.” Dean said bouncing harder on the bed, making the bedpost hit the wall. 

Cas took the doorknob in his hand and waited for Dean to start fake orgasming before he swung it open with a loud 'BOO' while pulling a string from a tiny box that instantly set off magical fireworks at his 3 siblings, making them scream and fall backwards onto each other. Cas shook his head at them as they covered their ears and ducked into each other, away from the fireworks. Dean came over and laughed when he saw them still in a pile breathing hard as the fireworks finally stopped, “That's what you get for being creeps.” He said, putting his hand on Cas's shoulder. 

Anna finally caught her breath, “I'm seriously going to kill both of you.”

“We were just checking on you.” Michael insisted as he got up and dusted himself off.

“Yeah Cassie, you're our baby brother, it's our duty to protect your virtue. Those fireworks were totally unnecessary...though they were kind of a nice touch.”

“Gabriel!” Anna shouted and he threw his arms up.

“What? They were.”

Cas sighed, “Let's just go get something to drink.”

“Yeah.” Dean said with a smile and followed him downstairs to the kitchen where Chuck was helping Naomi with dinner.

“Hey Dean, good to see you.” Chuck said when they came in and Naomi turned to look at him.

“Thanks for inviting me sir.”

“Hey, you're always welcome here. Right honey?”

Naomi looked Dean over carefully, her brows narrowed in judgment. “Yes, of course. It's nice to finally meet you Dean.” Her voice was cold and business like.

“Mother...you said you'd be nice.” Cas reminded her quietly and she nodded and gave a quick forced smile nodding and going back to cooking. Chuck gave an apologetic look that Dean acknowledged, but he was still obviously confused. Cas grabbed him a cup of hot chocolate and quickly took him to the living room. From the big window they could see Anna outside, building a snowman while Gabriel sneaked up behind her and poured snow down the back of her coat, initiating a snowball fight. 

“So, what was that about?” Dean asked quietly as he settled in beside Cas on the couch. 

“My mother... thinks I'm only gay because of you, which I've explained to her is ridiculous because you yourself are bisexual, so if it was because of you I would be bisexual too, but she...is still suspicious of you. She always tries to convince me that your a 'bad influence.'” He finished with finger quotes. 

“Shit Cas, I had no idea, why didn't you tell me? I thought when you came out to them it was all good.”

“I didn't tell you because I believe that in time I can change her mind. Honestly, part of why I wanted you to come today was that I wanted her to get to know you, to see how amazing you are and how happy you make me. I figured that might make things easier. She promised to be polite, but...” Cas trailed off and Dean sighed putting his hand on Cas's thigh. 

“Hey, it's gonna be ok. She still obviously loves you, it might take her a while to get over it, but she is clearly on your side and that's more than a lot of people can say. Hell my father is hardly even in my life, but if he found out I was...you know... he'd totally disown me. Or beat the crap out of me and then pretend the whole conversation didn't happen.” 

Cas put his hand over Dean's, holding it tightly as if to say that he'd protect him. Dean smiled and squeezed his hand a couple times, trying to get Cas to smile, but he just looked away. “I just don't understand why it's such a problem with people still. There is already a lot of scientific evidence that proves it isn't a choice. My mother says that God condemns it, but how can she really believe that God would make people a certain way and then condemn them for being it? It doesn't make any sense.” 

“Some people are just stubborn and stuck in their ways, I guess.”

They went quiet until a snowball hit the window making them both look up surprised, only to see Michael tackle Anna into the snow. Cas smiled watching them and looked at Dean, “Do you want to show them how it's done?”

This wasn't a day to focus on hate or fear, so just like that they let it all slip away and soon Cas and Dean were teaming up on the other Novak children. By the time they were done, all of the kids were completely covered in snow. They came back in and stomped and shook off as much snow as they could before going upstairs to change. A few hours later they were all gathered around the table. Chuck said a prayer over the food and they dug in. 

Dean watched as even wandless, the entire family could pass things around the table with magic. He knew Chuck had secretly been teaching his kids from a young age, but it still amazed him to see how easy it was for Cas to do things that were considered high level magic like transforming into a sparrow or wandless magic, even if he could only do it for simple spells that way. Cas noticed Dean staring and he smiled at him. 

Naomi cleared her throat after taking a sip of wine, “So, Dean. You are on the quiddich team too I hear? With Michael and Anna?”

“Yes ma'am.” Dean said straightening his posture a bit. 

“Dean is a really good player.” Chuck said with a smile, but Naomi didn't look impressed. 

“Except when he goes up against Cassie, apparently.” Gabriel said with a grin and Michael nearly choked on his cider. 

Naomi ignored him, “Tell me about your family Dean. Why aren't you with them for Christmas?”

“Mother!” Cas raised his voice.

“It's ok, my father is an auror and he's investigating a case so me and my brother are staying here for the holidays.”

“What about your mother?”

Cas looked ready to flip the entire table, but Dean stayed calm. “My mother died when I was young. She was part of the war, part of the resistance.”

Naomi lifted her brows in surprise, “I see. I'm...sorry for your loss.” Her voice was more awkward than anything. 

“So this conversation isn't very Christmasy, how about something a little more cheerful? Anna? Micky? Cassie? Anyone?” Gabriel asked looking around. 

“Uhmm so I totally scored a perfect on my history test.” Anna said looking around and Chuck smiled at her. 

“Considering you have Metatron as your instructor, that's quite an achievement. Good job.” Chuck said with a smile making Anna beam and Gabriel make faces at her. 

The dinner got less awkward over time and Naomi stopped interrogating Dean, though she still watched him. When the pie came out, all of that was forgotten though. After dinner they headed out into the living room to where the Christmas tree was to open presents. In Cas's family, they opened some presents that on Christmas eve and then a couple more in the morning. Chuck made each of them either sing a carol or transform into an animal of some kind before they could open a present. Dean laughed as Cas sang jingle bells in his already rather deep voice. At the end they got into their stockings and pulled out handfuls of chocolates and candies. Cas put half of his in Dean's hands and they sat with the family, snacking and messing with their new gifts for a while. Eventually, Chuck turned the Christmas lights off and everyone headed to bed. Naomi came to Cas's room to check that Dean had a spot laid out on the floor next to Cas's bed before retiring herself. 

After the house got quiet Cas opened the blankets of his bed and Dean slipped in with him. They huddled tightly together, radiating heat. In the morning, before they went down for breakfast Cas pulled out a small box, messily wrapped in red paper and Dean pulled out an equally poorly wrapped gift for Cas. 

“On 3?” Dean suggested and Cas nodded. Dean counted and on 3 they opened their presents. Cas found a pack of magic post its that glowed different colors based on importance and would even sound off alarms or read off notes. Dean held up a key chain with a deactivated snitch, covered with little dents. 

“Dean this is perfect. I've been needing something like this forever.” Cas said looking up only to see Dean still running his fingers over the snitch. “It...it's from our first game we played against each other. You said your father is teaching you to drive, so I figured sooner than later you might need a key chain and it seemed appropriate.” 

Dean looked at it for a moment longer and then smiled up at Cas, “It's awesome Cas. Thanks.” He pulled Cas to him and kissed him gently. 

“Merry Christmas Dean.” 

“Merry Christmas.” 

The snow continued all through January and the students started spending more time inside. One particularly cold day, whe Dean was at practice and Balthazar kept trying to distract him, Cas made his way to the Hufflepuff common room to get some studying done. When he opened the door he saw the Hufflepuff head teacher Pamela consoling a crying Jessica. Cas had met Jess a few times, as she was dating his boyfriend's brother, not that she or Sam were aware of that fact. 

“Jessica? Did something happen?” Cas asked as he set his things down and approached them. Pamela mouthed a silent 'Thank god' at him before looking down at Jess. 

“See sweetheart, you already have a gorgeous little prince ready to wipe away those tears for you. That boy doesn't know what he just gave up.” She kissed Jess's hair and pat her back. Jess sat up slowly, tears still sliding down her cheeks and dripping from her chin. 

“Castiel?”

“I'm gonna let you two be, come get me later if you need me ok kiddo?” Pamela offered and Jess nodded as Cas moved beside Jess on the sofa. 

“What happened?”

“Sam...broke up with me. He said he was too busy to really spend time with me and that he didn't think it was fair to me. I tried to tell him I didn't mind, but he just kept going on...saying how he needed to focus on his studying. How it was more important.” Her voice cracked on the last sentence and new tears built up as she curled in on herself with a sob. Cas ran his hand over her back. 

“I'm very sorry Jessica.”

“It would be one thing if he didn't like me or something, but it's all just because he doesn't have time. That's crap! I mean, I knew he was ambitious and I like that about him, but he's going too far. I mean, he's taking poison!”

“What?!” Cas pulled away and looked at her.

Jess looked annoyed with herself for mentioning it, “He's taking a little everyday to build an immunity because it's part of Professor Azezel's 'tutoring curriculum.' He's already immune to 3 different poisons now. I tried to tell him how dangerous that is, but he wouldn't listen. He just does whatever he's told. He's barely sleeping or eating because he doesn't have time for it...I, I was the one making sure he ate properly and now he's broken up with me...what's he going to do now? He's practically killing himself just to get ahead.” Jess said filled with worry, bits of her golden curls sticking in the tear trails on her cheeks. 

“I'll tell Dean. It sounds like Sam is really getting in over his head. Jessica, thank you for everything you've been doing for him. I'm sorry things happened like this.” 

“Me too.”


End file.
